Spring Reading
by illogicallydead
Summary: Neil and Rio are doing spring cleaning for the rest of the day, until Neil finds a small box containing... Papers? While Rio really is spring cleaning, Neil, on the other hand, was spring reading. THREESHOT
1. Chapter 1

Neil's POV

I woke up to the sound of a metal thing dropping to the floor with a loud shriek to follow.

"ugh…" I grunted as I slowly sat up. As I rubbed my sleepy eyes open, I looked around our room.

Geez, was our room always _this _messy?

I mean, there was dust all around, the picture frames weren't quite aligned, and—was that hole always there? I don't know. How can Rio live in this kind of environment? I think I haven't told her yet, but I've have OCD about cleaning. Don't know what that is? Well, it stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and I get freaked out or frustrated if some things aren't in order. I wonder why my OCD didn't kick in these past couple of weeks after I was married. Maybe I was too distracted by her charm and her beauty—what am I saying.

Anyway, I stood up and went out the door to see Rio setting the table for breakfast.

"Good morning Neil!" she greeted with her signature smile on her face.

"Morning." I replied coldly while sitting on the chair.

Coldly? Why coldly? Because I'm really bummed out about the condition of our home you know.

"Hmm… You seem glum today. Is everything alright? Is there something bothering you?" Rio asked while narrowing her eyes and leaning in to my face.

_Hell yeah there's something bothering me. LOOK AROUND._ I thought to myself and giving her the cold shoulder mentally.

She leaned out and looked around her. "…It's the house isn't it? The way it's always so messy and untidy?" she inquired looking down at me again. It's as if she can read my mind… either way she's right and I wish it would come to her senses that we should really do spring cleaning today.

I nodded and stabbed the pancake with my fork and put it in my mouth to prevent any more harsh words from coming out.

Rio sighed loudly as she sat down on her chair across the table. "You know, we could do spring cleaning today and fix this place up." She declared as she put the scrambled eggs in her mouth.

I almost choked on my water as she said those words_. Okay Neil you're going insane now._

_She really CAN read minds! Well… At least she can read yours. _

She noticed my weird actions and laughed. "Neil, are you really okay? You seem to be acting… weird today." I straightened my back and said "um.. Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

We stared at each other for 4 seconds.

"So, when are we going to start our spring cleaning?" Rio asked. "Today. After I finish my pancakes." I replied as I munched on my last piece of pancake.

"Haha, okay." Rio said as she stood up and cleaned the table.

This is gonna be a _long _day.

* * *

**so that was my first fic! HAHA! YAS. pardon me if this was too corny... but i assure all of you that i'll get my fluff mode on-later. cuz ms. butt3rnut iz too lazy. but i'll update as soon as possible! sorry if it's too short, too. :\**


	2. Chapter 2

This sucks.

"Neil! Are you done yet? Neeeeeeeiiiiiiilllll…" Rio teased from the other side of the door.

All I wanted was to clean the house… WHY MUST SHE DO THIS TO ME?!

I slowly reached for the doorknob and twisted it in an overly dramatic slow motion with a look that could kill the entire race of humanity. So help me I'll strangle the life out of my—NO. NO NO NO.

I quickly closed the door again.

"Aw, Neil! Come on! I bet you look as cute as the kittens in our backyard!" I could hear her coo from the other side. You know what? I'm torn. One half of me wants to just get over this peacefully and just CLEAN the damn house, the other half wants to make Rio pay an amount that would take her a lifetime to fulfill.

"Hell no I'm getting out in this ugly, stupid, horrible ALL OF THE F*CKING ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBES A MONSTROUS MAID OUTFIT!" I shouted. _Goddess, why does she always have to get her way?_

Wait.

_I'm the breadwinner of this family. If we're going to have kids, I'm going to be the father, the head of this home, and I'm a foot taller than her for Goddess' sake! _

I removed the costume as quick as possible and put on back my actual clothes.

As I was about to open the door, I suddenly remembered that time when I accidentally hit Rio in the face with a door simply because she was leaning in too close. Or she was _actually_ leaning on the door. I didn't want to make that mistake again. Hey, even if I look mad and angry all the time, I still care for my wife, you know.

"Rio." I called. "Are you in any way possible near the door? Or if anything, you're actually leaning on it? I'm about to open this door with rage." I said perfectly calm. Yes, perfectly _calm._

"No, you can come out and smash everything in your path now." Rio replied back.

I went out the door calmly. Thought I was being sarcastic? Surprise, surprise. No I wasn't.

I didn't really push through with the idea of breaking the door, the stuff in my way, I didn't really fancy the idea of breaking _anything _at all. What would be the use of cleaning this house if everything in it is broken?

Anyway.

I didn't see Rio anywhere when she suddenly came out of the storage room with all the cleaning supplies. Her gleeful smile was replaced with a pout. "Hmph. You removed it when I told you not to."

She complained while crossing her arms over her chest, huffing in disappointment.

"I wouldn't want to spend the entire day in that dress so shut it." I replied while coming near her.

She sighed in defeat, and said "fine. I'll let you through this time. But only _this _time. The next time, and the next time, and other next time's to come, I'll have the final laugh." With her eyes narrowed she giggled creepily. It's like she's up to something… Something like barging into someone's house at midnight and stare at them with eyes wide open. Creep.

Glaring at her, she finally stopped.

I took a deep breath and assigned our duties. "Okay, so I'll be the one in charge with the front yard, bedroom, and the living room. You'll be the one in charge in the backyard, the kitchen, and

the bathro—" she cut me off with "Woah there, buddy. I'm not going to clean the _bathroom._"

I stared at her blankly. The past two years she's been living in Echo village she has managed to survive on her own, maintaining the cleanliness of stuff around here and what not.

"W-well, if you don't wanna do it I'll do it." I replied to her. It was no problem for me but she still seemed tense about it.

"NO! I mean… If you'd like, we _could_ clean it t-together." Rio stuttered and even is she hid her face with both of her palms, I could still tell she's blushing like mad. Even if it means cleaning the bathroom with her, it still didn't matter to me. That would actually be great because we'd get the work done easier.

I _actually_ stifled a soft laugh and pulled her close to my chest and hugged her. I could feel her burying her face deeper and I bet she's even redder than before. She looked up to me and said "can we please just get on with the cleaning and get this over with?"

It's like she didn't even say it; it's like she whispered it. It was so quiet that I had to recollect every bit of the sentence.

"Fine, let's get this done." I replied back in agreement and broke the hug.

"uh, I'm going to go now… " I said awkwardly, grabbing the broomstick to start sweeping in the front yard. "okay. See you in a bit." She replied with a charming smile. With that, I went out and started sweeping.

_Around 10 minutes later…_

That was pretty fast.

Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I set the broom to the fence and went in. the front yard's finally done so I'm heading to my next destination: the bedroom.

As I was making my way to our room, I saw Rio in the kitchen doing the dishes. She was so busy scrubbing and rinsing off the dirt from the plates that were supposed to be done _the last three days_, she didn't even notice me coming in.

Shrugging the thought off, I went in the room and sat on the bed, wondering where to start.

Well, studies say that the bed makes the room appear 80% cleaner, so I'm gonna start with that.

I went to the closet to see if there were some extra blankets, pillow cases and sheets because the ones on the bed right now are literally screaming "WE CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMRE! WE NEED TO BE CLEANED!". Luckily, I found some to replace the poor guys.

I took off the existing cases of the pillows, removed the bed sheet, and threw the blanket in a random place. I'm going to take care of that later. I then put on the new pillow cases, sheets, and blankets and fixed the bed.

But there's still this uneasy feeling inside of me that the bed _still_ isn't clean enough. I had to make sure it was neat on the inside out, so I kneeled down and stretched my arm under the bed to feel if there's any boxes, trash, and dust (obviously). My hand laid on a small wooden box and I carefully took it out.

I dusted it off and the lid of the box said: _Rio's stuff. DON'T OPEN OR ELSE. _

I scoffed. _Or else what?_

Not even terrified by the hanging threat, I opened the box to see… papers?

There were lots of them. They were small, about one fourth of a regular short bond paper.

I took one piece out and the letters were written in cursive and then evolving to lazy printed handwriting. Before reading the paper, I stood up and locked the door to prevent Rio from barging in and seeing me read her stuff. Having done that, I read the small piece of paper.

_Spring 9 _

_Today I got my first cow! I named her Bessie. The name Bessie feels right on her, so I named her that. _

_And oh my Goddess the one who delivered her was so CUTE! Although he's really cold (not literally but you get the point and if looks could kill, I'd be dead by now! Hehe… But there was something about him. Something weird. My gut tells me that he's a real softie after you break through hundreds of layers of shells. But yeah… he's got those ruby eyes and blonde hair that reminds me of ketchup and mustard. At first I thought his eyes were contacts, but in the long run of mulling and thinking about his eyes, I didn't care if they were contacts or real because there's one thing I know that's actually true: they are amazing. They're beautiful in every way and they're perfect in any angle you look at. But I'm not really sure if I should have a crush on him like that…. I just met him a few hours ago. _

_Well, let's just see how this works out! Along with Dunhill's crazy restoration plans… But I tell ya, piece of paper, I'm glad to revitalize this town. It makes me feel… Complete? Satisfied? Happy? _

_Any of those adjectives would work! Well… it's 8:30 pm now. I'm going to call it a day. _

And with that, the letter ended and I can't help but smile at her letter.

I took the box and as I held it, I shook it lightly to slightly jumble the papers. _Oh, I'd love to see the rest of these._ I thought as my smile grew wider.

* * *

**yaaass... that's another chapter DONE! Thanks for your kind review J-Ninja421 :)**


	3. Chapter 3

I opened the box again and grabbed a random piece of paper. This time, it read:

_Spring 20_

_Why hello there piece of paper, we meet again. Hath thou missed me? _

_So today, I went to Neil's stall and gave him yak's milk! I smiled like a crazy goofball as he said "Mhm, great." EEEK! I still remember those two words (I don't even know if I should consider "mhm" a word) because the memory is as fresh as a newly laid egg! _

_I'm really going crazy for that Neil guy, right piece of paper? Oh jeez "piece of paper" is a handful to write. If I were really talking to you it'd be a mouthful. From now on, I'll just call you "POP". that sound good? _

_Of course it sounds good, I came up with it! HAH! _

_You know what, Pop? I think I might have the teensiest crush on that animal dealer…. _

Oh…. So she _did_ have a crush on me! She kept on denying it every time I would tease her about it and tried had a tsundere attitude like in one of those anime shows that has a main character who's flat chested _(not that I'm saying Rio is a loli but she does have a small and underwhelming bust size) _and always denies her affection towards another human being in a way like "N-no I don't like him". And have you noticed that stutter? Well, it annoys me as far as I could tell. But at the same time I'm guilty of stuttering because I do that all the time whenever I'm flustered or embarrassed. Oh, the irony.

Anyway, I still haven't had enough of these letters so I'm going to read some more.

I got another one and this time, there wasn't a date. It said:

_Hi Pop…._

_So the day after tomorrow is the Starry Night Festival, and I wanted to ask Neil out. _

_BUT I DIDN'T HAVE THE GUTS, POP! I JUST DIDN'T OKAY? And I blew it off…._

_I literally __**stuttered **__in front of him. I hate it when I do that! It makes me feel like ten times the coward I already am. Oh Goddess…. If I really wanted to go with him so badly, I'd ask him out again tomorrow, right? Oh gosh I'm insane. Woohoo look at Rio writing on a piece of paper and muttering dumb words. _

_I guess I just really needed someone to talk to. Or rather, some__**thing **__to __**write**__ on. _

_Well, that wraps it up I guess. I swear I will ask Neil out again! Maybe in a more casual way…. _

I remember this. Yep, I remember it like it was only seconds ago. There's nothing much to elaborate in this event because all she did was ask me out while stuttering. Deep inside me, I didn't answer her in the first place because I wanted her to be strong and not choke in her words. Guess I didn't do a great job at trying to be a good friend who wanted his friend to not stutter. Maybe that's just how she is. Like me. Stuttering and blowing off the whole thing. I said yes to her the next day, though.

Then I noticed that there were still writing at the back of the paper. I flipped the paper and saw this:

_Hi again, Pop!_

_YES! Neil finally said yes!_

…_. And I can't express my feelings in words. I'm just so…. HAPPY! I'm going to give him Shrimp Chili tomorrow. _

And there were scribbles of smileys everywhere on the piece of paper. When you don't have words to say about how happy you are, just doodle smileys on a paper.

Still not satisfied, I picked another piece of paper from the box.

_Winter 9 _

_Hello Pop!_

_Today is Neil's birthday and sadly, there was a storm on that very special day. And that special day is today, obviously. _

_I still made a pot of Shrimp Chili, though. But heck no I would eat all this alone…. _

_Being crazy enough, I took the pot of Neil's favorite food and put on the thickest, warmest clothing on myself. Yes, I'm going to his house despite the storm. See how head over heels I am for him? It was getting out of hand, I know. But who cares anyway? So I went out on my way to his place, and GOSH! The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside…. _

_But I arrived there in one piece anyway! Why'd you think I'd write this letter? _

_Luckily enough, despite the anger and annoyance in Neil's eyes, he let me into his home. __It was all _

And then the note ended. It was continued on the back portion, though.

_It was all worth the effort of almost getting killed in the storm! Although Neil didn't take it lightly… _

_He yapped at me at how "pathetic" and "stupid" I was for going to his house in the midst of a calamity. Well how can I help it? I can't let him celebrate his birthday all alone. If he even celebrated it. Oh and mind you it was his 20__th__ birthday. I'm still glad that he let me in and we both ate the Shrimp Chili and for some reason…. It tasted even better. I'm also happy that he let me sleep in his, uh,bed. OH! I don't know how to describe it. But at the time I was writing this, I was in his dining room. _

_And it made my heart melt when he actually gave me a genuine smile that day. _

That's where the letter ends.

Right, I did _smile_ at her for the first time in forever. But the kind of smile that I've never smiled before…. What was the word she used? Oh right. It was _genuine_.

And to clear up that part where she messed up, I did make her sleep in my bed. It was the least I could do after she made the effort of running to my house in the middle of a snowstorm and giving me a memorable dinner. Yes, a _memorable _one. I never thought I'd say this, but that very day, I actually accepted the fact that I'm falling in love with her because all the time I've thought about Rio, I always denied my feelings for her. Great, now I'm the tsundere here.

I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the door open and Rio stepped in.

_Pooooooooop. _I sat still and stared at her. I didn't even bother to put the papers back in the box and seal it close before she sees me. Guess my adrenaline rush didn't come in a rush.

She stared at me quizzically.

"Neil, what're you doing?" Rio questioned. "In other words, what are you _reading?_"

Still gaping at her, I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off with "OH MY GOSH! Neil, why were you reading those?!" while waves of guilt washed over me as I covered my mouth to prevent any laughter from coming out.

She came closer and took the box and the pieces of paper I just read in her arms. She sat beside me, squinting with a glum look on her face.

Unable to control my laughter any longer, I didn't exactly _burst_ out laughing but instead gave out a small chuckle and said "What? I thought it was cute."

Rio blushed at my statement. What? It was true anyway.

She lowered her head some more and I, on the other hand, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her tight to my chest. She returned the hug by wrapping her arms around my back as she buried her face deeper. I heard her mumble something, but I couldn't make out the words so I asked "what was that?"

She looked up and said "why'd you do that?" in a very small and _cute_ voice.

"Do what?"

"You know what you did." She countered while glaring at me.

"Well, I just found it under the bed as I was cleaning and, well…. I got carried away with all the cuteness." I explained while burying my face into her golden hair.

Even when her face is snuggled to my chest, I could tell she's blushing like mad because her ears were red as a tomato.

"Hey…. Wanna read the rest of those together?" I asked with a smirk on my face. "NO! You'll just tease me and be a big bully!" she retorted as her head bolted upward.

"No I won't." I countered.

"Yes you would!"

"Nope."

"Hmph. You'd still do it anyway."

"What if I won't?"

She looked into my eyes and said, "Then I'd reward you with this," then she held both my cheeks and kissed me hard, forcing me to kiss back. Then unknowingly, her tongue made its way to mine, and I tongue-wrestled with her in a gentle way. Goddess, it felt good.

We remained like that for a few moments and we both pulled away slowly, and this time it was my turn to blush furiously.

Rio giggled. "You know, you look cute when you get embarrassed." She whispered as she rested her head into my shoulder, snuggling into my neck.

I leaned down and made sure my mouth was close to her ear and said "you know, we could just clean the bathroom tomorrow."

"Yeah, I see you haven't even finished cleaning the bedroom."

"Like I said, I got carried away with the cuteness." I retorted while running my hands down to her waist.

Well, spring reading was better than spring cleaning.

With that, Rio had fallen asleep and I had to drag the both of us to the head of the bed where the pillows were. Somehow, I managed to rest my back on one of the pillows and let Rio snuggle into my arms.

Recollecting about what just happened earlier, I dozed off to sleep as well.

* * *

**AYE it's done! :D**

**disclaimer: the snowstorm event wasn't purely my idea but it was based off of _supermanisawesome's_ story "A Lonely Birthday". i just really loved the fluff :3 y'all shoud check her fic out. i also don't own harvest moon or any of its characters. **

**bai nao~**


End file.
